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Theory & Notation Education for Children

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There's nothing wrong with showing a young music lover a few notes and chords on the guitar - but any music educator will tell you that if you can help a child understand theory and notation, their musical progression will speed up tremendously. Of course, when it comes to teaching any youngster, the trick is to make the learning process as fun as possible, and that's what this section is all about. In fact, theory and notation education for children comes in the form of entertaining card games, activity book/CD combos and interactive CD-ROM software packages.

One of the best ways to teach music theory and notation to children is by using flash cards, and the Alfred Essentials of Music Theory: Flash Cards - Note Naming is a top seller. This set contains 48 cards (with 96 separate musical items) that are organized into 4 progressive sets. These flash cards correspond with Essentials of Music Theory Book 1 and Volume 1 of the Computer Software and can be used with any beginner music theory course.

Moving things along, another excellent classroom resource to check out is the Hal Leonard Thirty Days to Music Theory. This curriculum teaches music theory basics in a practical, easy-to-follow instructional kit. Perfect for choirs, concert bands and general music classes, these 30 lessons touch on basic music concepts while encouraging creativity and composition among students.

And your choices just keep coming after those two items. In fact, Alfred's selection of theory and notation education for children is loaded with CDs and books that cover treble cleft notation, time signatures, sharps, flats and other fundamentals. Even if you use Orff instruments in your music lessons (xylophones, glockenspiels, etc), Schott offers a collection of CDs that are designed specifically for the Orff Approach. When a child has a grasp of music theory and notation, it allows them to listen and play music in a whole new light, and any one of these education plans will be sure to open their minds while making their musical journey an exciting one.